2i's plaque gone?

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2i's plaque gone?

Postby RayL » Fri Oct 29, 2021 9:39 am

The plaque in Old Compton Street which commemorates the 2i's coffee bar (no explanations needed on this forum), appears to have gone. I walked past yesterday and the frontage of the shops in that part of the street has been changed. No plaque. That's not right.

I couldn't stay and do a thorough search. Is anyone going to be in that area of Soho in the next few days? Please could you check?

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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby Teflon » Fri Oct 29, 2021 11:14 am

It's still showing on Google "street view" which is dated Jan '01, so must have been removed fairly recently. If the building frontage has been changed, then hopefully it was removed temporarily whilst the works were carried out and will be re-installed. Would be a crying shame if it's been lost.

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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby Iain Purdon » Sat Oct 30, 2021 12:19 pm

That’s distressing. I was at the unveiling of that plaque in 2006. Bruce, Brian and Licorice were all there, along with numerous other famous faces from the 2i’s era, and Cliff made a short speech. He modestly said it had been a hotbed of talent and that “some of us were lucky.”

A quick Google search tells me that English Heritage is responsible for blue plaques in London. It might be worth a phone call to them?
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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby RayL » Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:43 am

Iain, like you I was there on September 18th 2006, and with a High Definition camera on my shoulder.

I put a short clip from the full video on youtube.
http://youtu.be/Ow8z0iH5YPI

That shout at the beginning is Clem Cattini shouting 'Ray Liffen!' as he recognises me.

It's not an English Heritage blue plaque. It's green, and was a joint enterprise between Westminster council and Robert Mandry, a private individual.

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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby GoldenStreet » Sun Oct 31, 2021 3:49 pm

Just viewing Ray's video of the plaque unveiling event again reminded me of how male-dominated the music scene was back in the heyday of the 2i's. I sometimes wonder if any budding local Wanda Jacksons and the like ever attempted to make their presence felt, or if they would have been allowed an opportunity to do so. Billie Davis, for instance, was probably too young at the time, but how many others, slightly older, of her style were around then?

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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby Iain Purdon » Sun Oct 31, 2021 4:59 pm

Well, I think Chas McDevitt was there - and Nancy Whiskey comes to mind!
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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby Iain Purdon » Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:03 pm

RayL wrote:It's not an English Heritage blue plaque. It's green, and was a joint enterprise between Westminster council and Robert Mandry, a private individual.
Ray

Thanks for correcting that, Ray. And what a tremendous video - brings it all back!

Cheers - Iain
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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby RayL » Sun Oct 31, 2021 5:11 pm

GoldenStreet wrote:Just viewing Ray's video of the plaque unveiling event again reminded me of how male-dominated the music scene was back in the heyday of the 2i's. Bill


'Dominated' is perhaps too strong a word. There were no British role models for teenage girls in the late fifties. The female singers on offer, Anne Shelton, Marion Ryan, etc were from an older generation and didn't sing rock'n'roll. Wanda Jackson never got into the charts over here and the only chance to hear Let's Have a Party was on Luxembourg as it faded in and out across the airwaves. The BBC wouldn't play her. Too raucous. Unladylike.

Boys had plenty of rock'n'role models (sorry). Playing a guitar or sitting behind a drum kit was something that boys did. In the sixties it changed but all those old men in my video were teenagers in the fifties (even Wee Willie Harris) and they'd heard Haley and Elvis and Buddy and Eddy and Little Richard. Paul was allowed into The Quarrymen in July 1957 because he could sing and play Twenty Flight Rock.. He'd seen Eddy Cochran on film. He knew what rock'n'rollers did.

The girls were in the audience. The boys were on stage.
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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby GoldenStreet » Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:47 pm

RayL wrote: The BBC wouldn't play her. Too raucous. Unladylike. :)

The girls were in the audience. The boys were on stage.

Didn't Brian meet the future Mrs Bennett at the 2i's? Bruce too, I think, and his first wife...

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Re: 2i's plaque gone?

Postby artyman » Sun Oct 31, 2021 10:57 pm

Don't know if they were at the 2i's but Helen Shapiro was a 60's star, and also Holly Langtree drummer in the Honeycombs
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